The Transfusion Medicine and Hemostasis Clinical Trial Network (TMH CTN) was funded in 2002, in response to a demonstrated need for large multi-institutional clinical trials in transfusion medicine and hemostasis. The TMH Network is a national resource for the advancement of knowledge and understanding in the field of transfusion medicine and hemostasis. The Network will promote the efficient comparison of novel management strategies of potential benefit for children and adults with hemostatic disorders;and will also evaluate novel as well as existing blood therapies and cytokines for the treatment of hematologic disorders. Since its inception, the principal investigators and their collaborators at the 17 funded sites, have worked successfully to develop and implement clinical trials in these areas. Building on the progress to date, over the next the 5 years, the TMH CTN proposes to: 1) Maintain, and further develop, as needed, a structure to support the development, implementation and conduct of clinical trials in the areas of transfusion medicine and hemostasis. This will be done in collaboration with the New England Research Institutes as Data Coordinating Center, and program staff at NHLBI. 2) Utilizing a structure of working and study oversight subcommittees, complete ongoing trials and develop, refine and complete new trials proposed in this application. 3) Develop collaborative relationships and support training opportunities to facilitate the success of the proposed clinical trials and further the fields of transfusion medicine and hemostasis. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of 17 funded sites, has been participating actively in the TMH CTN. Dr. Mark Brecher (Department of Pathology and Laboratory) is the lead principal investigator at UNC. Dr. Nigel Key (Department of Medicine- Hematology Division) is the co-principal investigator. Both of them have actively participated in several subgroups of TMH CTN. They also regularly attend the quarterly Steering Committee meetings. Additional TMH study staff includes two full-time research nurses and one part-time medical technologist. Two TMH CTN protocols are ongoing at UNC, and it is the intention of the investigators at this site to support new network protocols in the future.
